What is a smart building?
A smart building is any structure that uses automated processes to automatically control the building’s operations including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, security and other systems. A smart building uses sensors, actuators and micro-chips, in order to collect data and manage it according to a business’s functions and services. This infrastructure help owners, operators and facility managers improve asset reliability and performance, which reduces energy use, optimizes how space is used and minimizes the environmental impact of buildings.
Buildings that aren’t “connected” are the same buildings they were decades ago. They have provided the essentials: shelter, temperature control and safety at the same efficiency level for years. But newer buildings, or older structures that have been converted to smart buildings, are constantly changing. They are living organisms connected to a network with intelligent and adaptable software.